How He Loves Us
by Googz333
Summary: Kim and Kat struggle to find hope in the midst of the Christmas Season.  The love of another quickly provides the hope they desperately need.  One-Shot, set during the Epilogue of "The Ghost of Me."  Contains major reference to Jesus and Christianity.


Disclaimer: Power Rangers was created and is owned by Saban. I only own a laptop and ideas.

A/N 1: This popped in my head as I was thinking about Christmas season, and I'll be up front that it explores the theme of Jesus and Christianity. I say this now so that if it would offend you to read this, please don't read it. However, if you're curious about the message of the story, or about Jesus, please read AND feel free to PM me to ask questions.

A/N 2: The title is from the song "How He Loves Us" by David Crowder Band, which is so good.

A/N 3: This is written in the same universe as "Ghost of Me" and "By Your Side." This takes place during the epilogue of "Ghost of Me"

A/N 4: This ignores the whole Santa Claus episode in Season 3 of MMPR.

"How He Loves Us"

Kim stormed into the apartment, as frustrated as she had been by her boyfriend in quite some time. _'Was he really this dense when we dated before?' _Kim thought as she took her shoes and threw them on the ground. "Kat! You home?" She said, exasperated. She walked through the hallway into the living room to see her roommate in what was becoming a routine state; face stained with tears, hair in a tangled mess, and still in her PJ's.

"You sound angry," Kat said matter-of-factly.

"And you look like a train wreck," Kim responded, which elicited light chuckles from the women. "Another hard day?"

"Yeah," she said. "I miss them... it's almost been a year since Voldemort killed Adam and Tanya. Jason was over earlier, I feel so bad for him. He wanted to do something special for me, but instead he held me while I sobbed for an hour."

"I'm sure Jase understands," Kim sympathized. "Tanya was your best friend, and Adam wasn't far behind. I mean, we all miss them, but we understand that it was most difficult for you."

"I just wish it didn't hurt so much," Kat replied. "I would have thought a year would have been enough time to start healing."

"But at least you have Jason."

"Jason's great... but he's not enough Kim. At least not to get me through this. I just wish I knew what would." Kat stopped, and the two ladies sat in silence for a minute. Kim took the moment to sit in the chair across from the couch. "So, what's got you all worked up?"

"Tommy."

"Uh-oh, what did he do this time?"

"I was reminiscing about Adam and Tanya too, and he asked me why I kept bringing it up. I tried to explain, but it was like he didn't understand. He kept asking if we could talk about something else, so I started talking to him about how I'm really anxious to see my Mom this Christmas since I left the Pan-Globals last year. You know, she always wanted me to compete, it was her dream as much as it was mine, you know? Anyway, he interrupted me and said he really wanted to not talk about this stuff, and didn't think it was good for me to keep bringing it up! Can you believe that?"

"Wow... that doesn't sound like Tommy at all," Kat replied. "Normally he is a really good listener. I wonder if he's feeling down about it too, but just wants to move past it? I mean, when you dumped him the first time he didn't really let too many of us in to what he was feeling, and he moved on pretty quickly. He tends to try to find something to cheer him up rather than deal with the issues. Especially with Christmas around the corner. You know how he is with holidays."

"Yeah. I guess I just thought he would care about how I'm feeling."

"I'm sure he does... maybe he just needs time to process."

"I just... has Tommy always been this dense? I mean, we never used to get into fights, he always seemed to care. I mean, the only time we ever got upset at one another, it was due to one of Rita's spells."

"You thought he was perfect?" Kat asked tenderly.

"To some extent," Kim said. "I'm not being fair though. I know he really cares about me... I just... what you said before, about Jason not being enough for you. I feel the same way about Tommy. I remember in high school, the ultimate dream was having Tommy as my boyfriend."

"Has that changed?"

"No... I mean, I want this man as my husband," she smiled briefly, bringing another chuckle from the formerly tear-ridden blonde. "I just... he doesn't solve my problems... sometimes he just causes more crap than actually helping!"

"I think that's all men," Kat retorted. "I mean, Jason is fantastic. But the fights come, the boneheaded decisions. I never knew Jason could do such DUMB things. The other day he took me out on a date, and he took me to a sushi bar. He knows I HATE sushi. I must've told him a dozen times that the idea of raw fish makes me gag. But he proudly brought me there, thinking I would love it, and I had to politely remind him of what I don't like."

"Wow... I can't believe Jason forgot. I bet he felt awful."

"Oh, he did. It took about 15 minutes of saying it's ok before he felt better about it. And then I started crying... oh, Kim, what in the world is wrong with us?"

"Us? Do you mean besides the fact that our men make dumb mistakes?"

"Yes, besides that. We're in the process of building our dream school. We have boyfriends that we absolutely adore, despite the fact that they do stupid things. We're about to celebrate the best holiday of the year, and here we are in our apartment either crying or seething due to anger. Let's face it, Kim, Tommy and Jason aren't the only messes. We're messes, too."

"Yeah... although, you're a prettier mess," Kim said, which managed to help them crack a smile at one another. "I mean, you're about the only person I know that can pull off the sexy cool look despite the fact that you've been crying all day."

"Now you're just being nice," Kat replied. "You know, when Tanya was upset, she used to pull out her bible, pray, and listen to a specific radio station, 91.3 I think. No matter what she was going through, she'd always come out feeling better. I never understood it though."

"Well... 91.3 is the Christian music station. I listen to them during Christmas because they always play the best Christmas music. Maybe we should do that? Pay a little homage to Tanya in the process?"

"Sure... it couldn't hurt." Kim stood up and went over to their stereo, which sat on a desk across the room, and turned it on and tuned it to the right station. A voice came over the stereo, it sounded like one of the radio preachers that agitated most people. "No music, want me to turn it?"

"No, turn it up... maybe this guy has something to say about how to be cheered up during the season?"

"Ok," Kim replied. She turned up the volume, and they listened to what sounded like the tail end of a sermon.

"... _**It's a week before Christmas, and some of you are fretting about who you're going to spend it with. Some of you are worried if you're going to get the right gift, or if you're going to give the right gift to that special someone. Some of you are hurting from friends who have left, either moving out of the area, others who have died. These are all good things to be concerned about. They're hard things to go through. But have you considered that Christmas isn't about this. It's not just about family. It's not about the gifts under the tree. It's not about making sure you spend your time with the boy or girl of your dreams, and having the perfect 'holiday.' Christmas is about THE person who loves you more than you can imagine. It's about a God, THE God of the universe, who gave up everything so you would be perfectly loved, perfectly cared for, and secured for all of eternity. Jesus Christ gave up everything, so He could come as a baby. He came needing his diapers changed, He needed to rely on sinful, messed up people while he grew up, when He was used to running the universe. And he went through all that to die on a cross for you. He loves you THAT much. And if you trust in Him, not only are you guaranteed heaven, but you're guaranteed true life even now with a right relationship with the God of the Universe. Zephaniah 3:17 says that, because of Jesus complete sacrifice, "he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you by his love, he will exult over you with loud singing...**_**" **

Kim turned down the radio with tears in her eyes. She looked over to Kat, who responded in kind. "Have you ever heard anything like that? I mean, I knew Christmas was about Jesus... but... I..."

"Yeah... I have. Tanya and Adam would always talk about Jesus... it's one of the things I always thought that made them so good together. She'd talk to me about Him, but I always that it was just for her, that I didn't need it."

"What all did she say?"

"That, well, our sin... our mess, needs to be atoned for to have a life with God. To get to heaven."

"What about what that guy was saying, though. About Jesus loving us? About God loving us. I mean I know I've heard about God doing that, but whenever I went to church, I just felt like it was just this big guy in the sky that controlled when you stayed and when you went, and that's it. Just a whole bunch of doing the right thing and God will accept you."

"Yeah... when Tanya converted, she said that we couldn't do anything to impress God, but it had to be God's doing through Jesus. But I never listened. I thought it was great for her, but I had a lot going for me. Valedictorian, Pink Power Ranger, great boyfriend, great friends. I didn't need anything or anyone else. But I look now, and everything has fallen apart in the past year and a half. I mean, sure, I have Jason, and you and Tommy, and Rocky when he's around. But my best friend is gone, my boyfriend doesn't always understand me, the glory days of being known as a brainiac are over, and I'm not a power ranger anymore."

"But if this God stuff is true... that Jesus really loves us this much... I mean all this stuff matters, but..."

"It pales in comparison to what God did through Jesus." The two sat there, processing through this. About 10-15 minutes later, Kat piped up again. "Do you want to turn on the radio to see if that guy has any more to say." Kim simply nodded her head, and she turned on the radio, and heard the start of a song coming on.

"Huh, it's music, but it doesn't sound like any Christmas song that I know of," Kim mentioned.

"Shhh..." Kat said. "Let's listen."

"_**He is jealous for me**_

_**Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree**_

_**bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy,**_

_**when all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions**_

_**eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are**_

_**and how great Your affections are for me.**_

_**O, how He loves us, oh**_

_**Oh, how He loves us,**_

_**how He loves us all**_

_**And we are His portion and He is our prize**_

_**Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes**_

_**if His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking**_

_**and heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss**_

_**and my heart turns violently inside of my chest**_

_**I don't have time to maintain these regrets **_

_**When I think about the way**_

_**He loves us, oh how He loves us**_

_**Oh, how He loves us, **_

_**oh how He loves**_

_**Yeah, He loves us, yeah, He loves us**_

_**How He loves us, oh, how He loves us all."**_

Kim and Kat listened intently, assured of one thing. If they trusted in Jesus, God would forgive them, and love them more than they could ever imagine. And they sat in their living room and cried together, but not just out of sadness, but out of joy and amazement that the greatest being in history would love them so much. They would be able to enjoy His love forever, along with Adam and Tanya. In spite of the loss of friends, the conflicts, and other trials of life, it was truly a Merry Christmas.

Thanks for reading, Please Remember to Review!

- Googz333


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